Alison’s Corner
We found out a bit late but there was another birthday last week. That was Ray Markham. We know that Ray did have an enjoyable birthday as part of the away trip. No other birthdays this week that we know about. (We trust that anyone we missed also had an enjoyable special day.)
Christmas Lunch
We trust that all that are coming have now payed. We also trust that all attendees will be fully vaccinated.
Last Weeks Walks
Local Walks
Some 40 odd of the regular walkers were on the away trip but it was great to hear that another 32 walkers took part in the normal Wednesday’s walks. The walks were local and walkers were made up of 5 PP’s, 23 SS’s and 4 FF’s. The Thursday walks were cancelled due to the weather which unfortunately cleared as soon as the walks were confirmed as cancelled! There were four Friday walkers left in town and they walked locally extending into Spicers forest.
Away Walks
We can report that the away walkers all completed their choice of walks successfully. The Old Coach Road walk was enjoyed by all those that completed it. On one of the signs on this walk it stated that “this spot is the coldest and wettest place in the North Island”. This walk was a complete contrast to the beautiful but barren landscapes of the other main walks that were taken on. These included the Tongariro Crossing, Tama Lakes, Taranaki Falls and the Silicon Lakes. Some also relaxed with a coffee or a wine in The Chateau.
Apart from some very heavy rain on the Sunday, the weather played its part. After two or three nights at National Park/Ohakune the walkers moved on to Whakatane. On Day 1 almost all took on a fairly long drive and then a further permitted drive along a 30km gravel road to view the Tarawera Falls. These Falls did not disappoint. There were several separate areas of falls that were spread over most of the length of an exceedingly clear Tarawera River. This river for some of its length disappeared underground and then reappeared.
Day 2 saw 29 walkers taking the ferry to Whale Island for Guided Tours of this relatively small island with the rest of the walkers carrying out some short local walks or just generally relaxing or shopping. All enjoyed the half day trip to this nearby island.
Day 3 saw the more serious walkers take on an 18+km walk with others enjoying shorter walks and the shops etc. Many thanks to David, Wayne and Brian for their efforts in organising the trip and the activities.
Photos
So far there is just one photo from from last week. Walkers please try and take a photo of each group on walking days and email them to peter@jville.kiwi preferably small size (around 450kb).
Walk Schedules
You can look at the walk schedule for the rest of November here.